Does Marijuana Therapy Work?

January 02, 1997

The Clinton administration's point is well taken in declaring war against physicians who prescribe marijuana for treatment of medical conditions: When it comes to illegal drugs, anarchy won't be tolerated.

Federal law does not recognize a legitimate medical use for marijuana, even if California and Arizona voted to do so in recent referendums. To ensure safe and effective medication for all citizens, the Food and Drug Administration should remain the sole authority for determining what constitutes safe and effective medication.

Still, it's disturbing to hear the nation's drug czar, retired Army Gen. Barry McCaffrey, dismiss out of hand the therapeutic potential of marijuana. He declared on a TV news show that American medicine had gone ``way beyond smoking dope to manage pain,'' thanks to ``smart physicians with good remedies.''

Reflexive anti-drug rhetoric is no substitute for scientific research. The FDA should take seriously claims, some of them from doctors, that smoking marijuana helps alleviate suffering in a way an acceptable pill form does not. Cancer patients contend that debilitating nausea is curbed by marijuana. Reportedly, the weed also relieves eye pressure from glaucoma and stimulates the appetites of those with AIDS.

Rather than be closed to the idea on principle, proper studies should be encouraged to get to the truth behind those claims. If it can be proved that marijuana provides the best relief for certain conditions, it ought to be dispensed by prescription.

Yes, there is potential for abuse should marijuana be sanctioned, even under narrow circumstances. But that risk is present with any prescription medication.

Faced with rising teenage marijuana use and a severe domestic drug abuse problem, the president who didn't inhale has little choice but to dig in and fight the California and Arizona initiatives. But aggressive pursuit of a national policy based on sound medical research would prevent other states from fashioning a crazy quilt of marijuana laws.

Imagine being sick and knowing that the only effective remedy required breaking the law.